The present invention relates to a sunvisor for automobiles.
More particularly, the present invention relates to sunvisors which are formed on an integral plastics material casing.
Sunvisors comprising a structure based on a plastics materials casing formed by blow molding of these materials are known. These sunvisors have a contour adapted to the configuration of the vehicle passenger compartment and may comprise the so-called vanity mirror, normally arranged in the passenger side sunvisor and superimposed on the surface of said sunvisor or mounted in the body thereof.
Sunvisors comprise a retaining spring which is generally formed from high spring steel and may be attached to the corresponding pivot pin of the bent support attached to the automobile structure. With this coupling, the sunvisor may rotate about itself and about the bent support and occupy, among the positions of regular use, any position defined by the user. The retaining spring grips the pivot pin so as to ensure, under normal conditions of use, that the sunvisor position selected by the user position is not modified by the vibrations caused by the vehicle running. In the majority of known embodiments, the said retaining spring and bent support pivot pin are provided, also, with means for holding the sunvisor in at least one position generally the rest position, with greater force.
Sunvisors are normally known to comprise a hanging bridge which is arranged at the opposite end to the one occupied by the retaining spring. This hanging bridge may be coupled to a support arranged on the automobile structure for providing the sunvisor with an auxiliary point of support, once the hanging bridge is hooked onto the support. This prevents mechanical overloads which the coupling of the sunvisor to the bent support would otherwise have to withstand.
The known sunvisors comprising a casing formed by blow molding of plastics materials have the drawback, derived from the very nature of the said casing, of a limited mechanical strength. Thereby, under normal conditions of use, they are easily deformable. A further drawback is that the retaining spring and/or the hanging bridge require to be incorporated in the sunvisor after the casing thereof has been formed, involving the need of using additional assembly members and operations.
The above drawbacks have a notable effect with regard, on the one hand, to the operative reliability of these sunvisors, particularly since the large number of components thereof imply a greater number of faults and/or breakages and, on the other hand, to the incorporation of the retaining spring and/or hanging bridge, during the corresponding assembly stages, to the sunvisor casing, which makes the production process and, therefore, the finished product, notably more expensive.